The England Under-21 international has been identified as a potential signing as he will have only 18 months left on his contract in January, while he will also boost Chelsea’s home-grown player quota. He has proven he can score goals in the Premier League, registering 14 last season and 20 in all competitions.

Falcao’s loan deal from Monaco is set to be scrapped after a disappointing spell for the Colombia international and Mourinho will be backed with funds after an abysmal first half of the season.

Radamel Falcao's loan at Chelsea has proved a difficult one

Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain, Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani and Alexandre Lacazette, of Lyon, are all likely to be targets but Berahino is understood to be on the Chelsea radar.

Berahino was at the centre of one of the summer’s transfer sagas after a lengthy pursuit by Tottenham Hotspur, with West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace rejecting four bids from the north London club. He also submitted a transfer request in a bid to force a move and after the fourth Spurs offer was turned down on deadline day, he tweeted that he would never play for Peace again.

Spurs remain keen on a possible deal, despite the bad blood that exists between Peace and Daniel Levy, while potential interest from Manchester United has not been discounted. West Brom valued Berahino at well over £25million in the summer, becoming increasingly frustrated with the structure of Spurs’ offers, and will again be reluctant sellers. Peace is notoriously opposed to doing deals in January, insisting earlier this year it was “a difficult time to do business”, and selling Berahino could be a risk if the club is still facing a relegation battle.

PSG's Edinson Cavani could also head to Stamford Bridge

However, the chances of Berahino signing a new contract are remote at best and there have been no serious talks over extending his stay at the Hawthorns. With that in mind, Albion recognise that Berahino’s value will decrease and an offer of around £20million could force their hand, and potentially enable Pulis to strengthen his own squad with the money.

Chelsea’s struggles have been one of the surprises of the season so far, with Mourinho only three points above the relegation zone and 15 behind leaders Manchester City. Mourinho has only secured three league wins and the club's defence of the Capital One Cup is already over after they were knocked out on penalties by Stoke City last month. Chelsea face Norwich City at home this weekend.